This family photo hangs at a memorial for Jose Raul Corrales in Long Beach on Wednesday, October. 10, 2018. The grandfather was killed Tuesday night in front of his Long Beach home. (Photo by Brittany MurrayPress-Telegram/SCNG)

Police said Friday they have arrested two men responsible for killing a 69-year-old grandfather as he watered his lawn in West Long Beach last month in a drive-by shooting that may have been related to a fight at nearby Cabrillo High School.

Evidence suggests the victim, Jose Raul Corrales, was not the intended target and detectives believe it was gang motivated, said Arantxa Chavarria, public information officer for the Long Beach police.

Rhyan Burrell, 20, of Lynwood and Terrel Warren, 23, of Long Beach were taken into custody about 5 a.m. during a SWAT operation in Lynwood, where detectives seized three firearms, ammunition and impounded a vehicle believed to have been used in the shooting, police said in a news release. The weapons will be analyzed by a crime lab, police said.

Burrell and Warren were identified “through an extensive investigation and interviews,” police said.

They were each being held on $2 million bail, jail records show.

Jose Raul Corrales, a mechanic and devoted grandfather who cared for his ill wife, was gunned down about 3 p.m. on Oct. 9 while standing with a group of people outside his longtime home on Canal Avenue and Summit Street.

Witnesses saw three or four people inside a light colored sedan open fire. Another man who was in a car was also shot and took himself to a hospital, police said.

“Detectives have determined this murder is gang motivated and believe the murder may be correlated to an altercation which occurred earlier that afternoon at Cabrillo High School,” police said.

On the day of the shooting, Oct. 9, at approximately 10:50 a.m, officers were dispatched to the 2000 block of Santa Fe Avenue for a call about a fight, Chavarria said. When officers arrived, they saw a large crowd that was gathered around an unknown number of students involved in a fight.

As soon as the students involved in the fight saw the officers, Chavarria said the students ran to another location on the campus and continued the altercation.

Officers, along with school staff, were able to break up the fight. One male juvenile and one male adult, who was cited for trespassing, were detained at the school.

Officers were unable to locate any other involved individuals. No injuries were reported.

Chavarria declined to say what detectives believe is the link between the school fight and the drive-by shooting later that day.

Corrales leaves behind his wife of more than 30 years, Maria, five daughters and more than a dozen grandchildren. About 100 people mourned him and rallied for justice at nearby Admiral Kidd Park days after the slaying.

“I don’t know if I feel happy or what should I feel,” she said. “I’m really thankful.”

Rodriguez said her mother burst into tears when detectives visited the family home with the news minutes earlier.

“We’re really thankful to the detectives and also the community because we have received so many prayers and help from people even people we don’t even know,” she said. “We have received so many blessings.”

Grandson Jerry Rodriguez, in Texas, hadn’t heard the news yet.

“I just really hope everything works out and justice will be served,” he said. “I’m glad my grandfather didn’t just die in vain.”

Both men were booked on suspicion of murder, carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle, permitting or discharging a firearm from a vehicle and gang enhancements. Burrell also could face a charge of being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm.

Detectives expect to present their case to prosecutors early next week.

Megan Barnes covers crime and public safety for the Press-Telegram. She was previously a city reporter at the Daily Breeze, where she covered the South Bay beach cities and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Before that, she was a freelancer writing about LGBT news and her hometown of San Pedro, where she probably made your latte at Starbucks. She loves iced Americanos and Radiohead and finally got to see them live on the A Moon Shaped Pool tour. It was magical.

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